A British prison has been slammed for holding inmates in cells without running water or electricity for over two days. The facility is run by Serco, a controversial UK contractor that specializes in weapons contracts, prisons and detention centers.

Dire conditions at HMP Doncaster, a category B prison with more
than 1,000 inmates, were discovered following an unannounced
inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP).

The prison is marked by acute levels of violence that are over
four times those typically present in similar facilities,
inspectors said. In certain cases, “extremely violent”
incidents required external support, and had to be reported to
the police. A wing of the establishment was also recently damaged
by vandalism and fire.

HMIP’s report revealed some prisoners were locked in
their cells with no electricity or running water for over 48
hours, and were rarely allowed to leave these units. The inmates
were incarcerated in this fashion, following a
“disturbance” in the facility, the research found.

Britain’s chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, reported
that while the Doncaster prison had certain redeeming features,
it requires urgent reform in various areas.

"The prison was experiencing real drift and performance was
in decline. Some staff seemed overwhelmed by the challenges
confronting them and needed more support," he said on
Wednesday.

The establishment also reportedly suffers from an acute drugs
problem. In a survey
conducted as part of HMIP's wider research project, many
prisoners indicated they didn't receive enough support for
narcotics or alcohol addiction. Drugs availability was
“high”,prescription protocols were
“inappropriate” and “medication administration was
poorlysupervised”, according to
HMIP.

HMP Doncaster is the latest prison to be heavily criticized by
HMIP, which published its report on Wednesday. The study's
release was followed by a Labour Party summit in Westminster
examining the country’s worsening prison crisis.

Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan, who hosted the event, warned
prison governors, officers, campaigners and charities in
attendance that the chaos currently infiltrating Britain’s prison
system is a result of poor policy decisions and “yawning
leadership” under PM David Cameron and Justice Secretary
Chris Grayling.

“The Tories are in denial about the scale of the crisis and
offer no solutions to tackle the mounting chaos,” Khan said
on Wednesday. “We can't go on like this. Five more years of
the Tories risks five more years of failure."

Violence and suicides rising

The PPO’s report examined suicides among young British inmates,
and concluded risk assessments and official oversight
arrangements with respect to self-inflicted deaths were
inadequate in many UK prisons.

The sheer extent of Britain’s prison crisis is highlighted by an
array of Ministry of Justice (MOJ) statistics published in recent
weeks.The MOJ figures revealed in July that grievous assaults in
UK jails had soared by 30 percent in a year, while three separate
murders were recorded in the past 12 months. A 69 percent rise in
suicides was also apparent – the most dramatic since 2005.

Meanwhile, cases of self-harm are rife in UK jails, with 23,478
incidents being recorded in the past year alone. And in June, the
MOJ revealed that 90 prisoners were on the run from a West Sussex
jail, sparking concerns about the facility’s security levels.

In the case of the PPO’s report, Ombudsman Nigel Newcomen carried
out a detailed analysis of 80 out of 89 prisoner suicides which
occurred in Britain between April 2007 and March 2014. The
deceased were aged between 18 and 24 years of age.

The PPO’s research indicates staff at the prison regularly
attributed too much weight to prisoners’ outward appearance and
behavior, rather than focusing on concrete risks relating to
their wellbeing. This lack of a risk-based approach was reportedly common, even
when self-harm was evident.

In one particular case, a prisoner had a history of mental health
concerns and had previously attempted to commit suicide on more
than one occasion. The young man, who experienced the death of a
relative and termination of a romantic relationship in the course
of a day, did not receive close monitoring during this period and
was subsequently discovered hanged in his cell.

According to the PPO’s study, 20 percent of the deceased at the
Doncaster jail had been bullied in the month leading up to their
death, in contrast with 13 percent of other inmates based in the
facility. In light of
the PPO's report, key demands issued by Newcomen included more
comprehensive responses to allegations of bullying in prisons'
quarters and improved mental health services centered on timely
referrals.

HMIP's report unveiled an array of
problematic aspects of HMP Doncaster, spanning poorly managed
mental health care, overcrowding in cells, unsanitary and
inhumane conditions, high levels of drug use and rising levels of
violence. Charles Carr, the prison's head of media
relations, however, denies reports that prisoners were held in
cells for 48 hours without running water or electricity.

HMIP’s findings in this
regard were drawn directly from accounts of prisoners and staff
based at the jail. But Carr claimed on Wednesdayinmates at the Doncaster
prison had only been detained from “Saturday evening at 6pm
until Sunday at lunchtime.” This incident was a “one
off”, he told RT.

Carr’s account of events
conflicts sharply with the reported perspective of prisoners and
staff at the jail. While Carr is head of media relations for the
prison at Doncaster, he also holds a senior communications role
in Serco - the outsourcing giant that runs the facility.